Container

ABSTRACT

A container having base and lid sections, one of which has a wall member dimensioned to be surrounded by and nested within the wall member of the other section when the container is closed. The container further includes hinge means providing a pivotal connection between the wall members of the base and lid sections. The hinge means defines a pivotal axis which, during opening and closing of the container, is movable laterally relative to one section while being fixed against lateral movement relative to the other section.

United States Patent [191 Bergh et a1.

[ 11 2 3,741,430 1 June 26,1973

1561, Rem-ems Cited CONTAINER [76] Inventors: George G. Bergh, 1 PeckRoad,

R.F.D. 3, Plainviile, Mass. 02762; Robert G. Bergh, 77 Metcalt Road,North Attleboro, Mass. 02760 [22] Filed: Jan. 3, 1972 [21] App]. No.:214,688

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.122,566, March 1,

1971, abandonedl [51] Int. Cl. 365d 43/16 [58] Field of Search 206/4515,45.23; 217/59; 220/38 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,247,848 11/1917 List...206/45.23

2,979,223 4/1961 Rideout 220/38 2,329,685 9/1943 Baker 206/4515 x2,241,989

5/1941 Friedrich et a1. 206/4523 Primary Examiner-Leonard SummerAttorney-Maurice E. Gauthier s7 1 ABSTRACT A container having base andlid sections, one of which has a wall member dimensioned to besurrounded by and nested within the wall member of the other sectionwhen the container is closed. The container further includes hinge meansproviding a pivotal connection between the wall members of the base andlid sections. The hinge means defines a pivotal axis which, duringopening and closing of the container, is movable lateraily'relative toone section while being fixed against lateral movement relative to theother section.

3 Claims, 22 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUJUIIZB ms 3. 741.430

sum 2 or 4 Fig 5c:

I.\'\ 'Ii.\"l( )RS GEORGE G. BERGH ROBERT G. BERGH ATTORNEYSPAIENTEDJHNZS ma 3.141.430 7 saw: at 4 Fig 7B.

INWENR ms GEORGE G. BERGH ROBERT G BERGH "Yaw Wk 54%. Ms M A'rmli-vIsYsINVENTORS GEORGE G. BERGH ROBERT G. BERGH ATTORNEYS CONTAINER CROSSREFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. Application Ser. No. 122,566 filed Mar. 1,1971 now abandoned.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a container madeup of base and lid sections which are in a nested relationship when thecontainer is closed, and which are hingedly connected to permit pivotalmovement of one section relative to the other about an axis which moveslaterally in relation to only one of the sections when opening andclosing the container.

A general object of the present invention is the provision of a moreattractive container, wherein base and lid sections are pivotallyconnected by hinge means which remain hidden from exterior viewsregardless of whether the container is open or closed. Another object ofthe present invention is to provide, in conjunction with a containerhaving base and lid sections which are nested when the container isclosed, hinge means I which permit the container to be opened bypivotally moving one section relative to the other about an axis whichis movable laterally in relation to only one of the container sections.A further object of the present invention is to provide means forpivotally connecting the base and lid sections of a container, whichmeans permits the said sections to be nested one within the other whenthe container is either opened or closed.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent as the description proceeds with the aid of theaccompanying drawings, wherein;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a container embodyingthe concepts-of the present invention, the container being closed withthe base section nested within the lid section;

FIG. 2 is another perspective viewshowing the container of FIG. 1 open;

FIGS. 3 and 3A are sectional views taken along lines 33 and 3A-3A ofFIG. 1 with the interior liner removed;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the base and lid sections ofthe container shown in FIGS. l-3A, with portions cut away to betterillustrate details of the hinge means;

FIGS. SA-SD are schematic illustrations of the relative movement andcooperative relationship between the container components when thecontainer is opened;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a slightly modifled form of theinvention with the base section fully nested within the lid section whenthe container is open;

FIGS. 7A-7E are schematic illustrations of the relative movement andcooperative relationship between the container components of theembodiment shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing another embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing details of the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 8;

FIG. 9A is an end view of the base section taken along lines 9A-9A ofFIG. 9; and,

the container components of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8-9A.

A more detailed description of the invention will now be provided withinitial reference to FIGS. 1-4 wherein a container generally indicatedat 10 is shown comprising base and lid sections 12 and 14. The lidsection 14 includes a wall member 16 which is of a generally rectangularconfiguration having oppositely disposed pairs of straight parallel endsand sides 16a and 16b. Wall member 16 is further provided with flanges18a and 18b extending inwardly from the upper and lower edges thereof,with flange 18a preferably being wider than flange 18b. A planar element20 is surrounded by wall member 16. As is best shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A,planar element 20 is provided with opposed integral flaps 22a and 22bwhich are bent downwardly at an angle of approximately ,These flaps,which are hereinafter at times referred to as insert members, cooperatewith the wall flanges 18a and 18b to wedge the planar element 20 inplace as shown in the drawings. If desired, the flaps or insert members22a and 22b may be made up of one or several strips which are separatefrom rather than integral with planar element 20. As is best shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, elongated slots 24 are provided between the lower edgesof the insert members 22b and the lower wall flanges 18b.

Base section 12 includes a second wall member 26 which is also made upof oppositely disposed ends and sides 26a and 26b defining a rectangularconfiguration which is suitably dimensioned to nest within the wallmember 16 of the lid section 14 when the container is closed, as shownin FIG. 1. Wall member 26 has upper and lower inwardly disposed flanges28a and 28b, the latter serving as a support for a second planar element30. Element 30 is held in place by insert members 30a and 30b, whichagain may either be integral with or separate from element 30.

The base section 12 is connected to lid section 14 by hinge meansincluding a pair of hinge elements generally indicated at 32. Each hingeelement is generally U- shaped in cross-section, having a pair ofparallel legs 32a and 32b joined at one end by a web section 320;

The legs 32a and 32b need not be of equal length, it being preferable tohave leg 32a the longer of the two. With respect to each hinge element32, the web section 320 extends laterally across one of the slots 24formed between the insert member 22b and the lower wall flange 18b. Theleg 32a is located between an insert member 22b and the interior surfaceof the wall member 16a, and the other leg 32b is located between theinsert member 22b and the adjacent exterior surface of the side 26a ofwall member 26. Leg member 32b is further provided with an integralpintle 34 which protrudes laterally into a suitably dimensionedreceiving hole 36 in the adjacent side 26a of the base section wallmember 26. The insert members 30b are also preferably indented orapertured as at 38 to accommodate the pintles 34.

In view of the foregoing, it will now be seen that base section 12 ispivotally connected to the hinge elements 32 by means of the laterallyextending pintles 34, and the hinge elements are in turn mounted on thewall assembly of the lid section 14. The hinge elements are slidablymovable along the lengths of the wall ends 16a ellli lve relationshipJove will ndw bet FIGS; SA-SD; In

ydepicted i he rtion S'Za willfhereinafterbecdme apparent aslthede 1tibn continues;

e base zindxlid sections 1 description, window be apmu eai't thatthepi'eseni in A further advantage of the invention is the provision ofhinge means which remain hidden from exterior view, regardless ofwhether the container is open or closed.

While the invention has been described above in conjunction withbox-like containers, it will be understood that the same concepts willapply equally as well to frame-type containers, such as for examplepicture frames. Also, it is to be understood that although the pintleshave been shown formed on hinge elements which are separable from thecontainer sections, under certain circumstances it may be advantageousto mold the pintles into one container section and to mold the pintlereceiving apertures or slots into the other section.

It is our invention to cover these and any other changes and/ormodifications of the embodiments herein chosen for the purposes ofdisclosure which do not depart from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

We claim:

l. Acontainer comprising in combination: base and lid sections suitablydimensioned to be nested one within the other when the container isclosed, each of said sections having spaced oppositely disposed straightparallel side walls; a pair of generally U-shaped hinge elements, eachof which includes laterally spaced legs interconnected at one end by anintermediate web, one of the legs on each of said hinge elements havinga pintle extending laterally therefrom, said hinge elements beingmounted in oppositely disposed relationship on the side walls of one ofsaid sections, with the legs of each hinge element straddling the sidewall on which the hinge element is mounted and with the pintles of bothhinge elements aligned axially; receiving means on the side walls of theother of said sections for receiving said pintles in axial insertiontherein, said hinge elements cooperating with said receiving meansduring opening and closing of said container to permit pivotal movementof one section relative to the other about the axis defined by saidpintles while at the same time per mitting lateral movement of said axisrelative to one of said sections. 7

2. The container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said hinge elements arefixed in relation to the side walls on which they are mounted, andwherein said receiving means comprise elongated slots.

3. The container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said hinge elements aremovable along the lengths of the side walls on which they are mounted.

1. A container comprising in combination: base and lid sections suitablydimensioned to be nested one within the other when the container isclosed, each of said sections having spaced oppositely disposed straightparallel side walls; a pair of generally U-shaped hinge elements, eachof which includes laterally spaced legs interconnected at one end by anintermediate web, one of the legs on each of said hinge elements havinga pintle extending laterally therefrom, said hinge elements beingmounted in oppositely disposed relationship on the side walls of one ofsaid sections, with the legs of each hinge element straddling the sidewall on which the hinge element is mounted and with the pintles of bothhinge elements aligned axially; receiving means on the side walls of theother of said sections for receiving said pintles in axial insertiontherein, said hinge elements cooperating with said receiving meansduring opening and closing of said container to permit pivotal movementof one section relative to the other about the axis defined by saidpintles while at the same time permitting lateral movement of said axisrelative to one of said sections.
 2. The container as claimed in claim 1wherein said hinge elements are fixed in relation to the side walls onwhich they are mounted, and wherein said receiving means compriseelongated slots.
 3. The container as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidhinge elements are movable along the lengths of the side walls on whichthey are mounted.